Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Technique
  • Published:

A jugular bleeding technique in rabbits

Lab Animal volume 39, pages 17–22 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

When studying pharmacokinetics in rabbits, researchers must often take multiple blood samples from conscious rabbits. Researchers usually collect these samples via the auricular vein, typically through a port or an indwelling catheter. The authors have developed an easy and efficient alternative method for obtaining multiple blood samples from conscious rabbits via the external jugular vein. This jugular bleeding technique serves as a refinement to blood sampling methods that require rabbits to undergo surgery (e.g., to insert a port) because it requires no alleviation of pain. During a 2-year period, the authors have taken multiple blood samples from more than 400 rabbits and have seen no adverse events attributed to this procedure.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Proper hand placement for rabbit restraint.
Figure 2: The rabbit is rotated against the side of the restrainer.
Figure 3: The bleeder restrains the head of the rabbit, placing his thumb across the rabbit's mandible.
Figure 4: The bleeder dorsoflexes the rabbit's head, which prepares the rabbit for clipping.
Figure 5: The bleeder applies alcohol to the clipped area in preparation for venipuncture.
Figure 6: The restrainer applies pressure on one side of the thoracic inlet.
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11

References

  1. Diehl, K.H. et al. A good practice guide to the administration of substances and removal of blood, including routes and volumes. J. Appl. Toxicol. 21, 15–23 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources National Research Council. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 1996).

  3. Kozma, C., Macklin, W., Cummins, L.M. & Mauer, R. The anatomy, physiology, and the biochemistry of the rabbit. in The Biology of The Laboratory Rabbit (eds. Weisbroth, S.H., Flatt, R.E. & Kraus, A.L.) 54 (Academic, San Diego, 1974).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hegedus, S.A. & Shackelford, R.T. A comparative-anatomical study of the craniocervical venous systems in mammals, with special reference to the dog: Relationship of anatomy to measurements of cerebral blood flow. Am. J. Anat. 116, 375–386 (1965).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Jeannine Hange and Daniel Pisacreta for their assistance in photographing this technique and editing the photographs presented.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Animal Resources, Merck and Co., Inc., West Point, PA

    Elizabeth A. Nelson,  Gina L. Keller,  Thomas W. Mitchell,  Patricia Rebbeck &  Irene T. Rogers

  2. Department of Bone, Respiratory, Immunology and Endocrinology, Merck and Co., Inc., West Point, PA

    Brenda Pennypacker

Authors
  1. Elizabeth A. Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gina L. Keller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thomas W. Mitchell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Brenda Pennypacker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Patricia Rebbeck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Irene T. Rogers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth A. Nelson.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nelson, E., Keller, G., Mitchell, T. et al. A jugular bleeding technique in rabbits. Lab Anim 39, 17–22 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0110-17

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0110-17

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing